Mathildenhöhe vortex garden

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The Vortex Garden with villa on Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt is located just below the Russian Chapel. It is Darmstadt's only privately owned public park. The garden is open during the day and is a popular destination for tourists on their way to the artists' colony, but is also frequented by families and children from the neighborhood. Upon request, the design and the idea of ​​the garden are explained to interested visitors.

concept

Created according to the principles of permaculture and the balance of natural eco-systems, the owner would like to symbolically make the garden accessible as a “place of liveliness, renewal and relaxation”. Vortex refers to a vortex or vortex movement. The leitmotifs of the garden and the villa are vortex spirals or double helix shapes, which are based on the geometrical structures of DNA . The elementary movement of living systems can be found again in water features, in the egg shape as a symbol, as well as in ornaments that are modeled on crop circles. Furthermore it is a personal homage of the owner to the life reform movement as well as to Hermann Graf Keyserling , and to the work of the forester and inventor Viktor Schauberger , who advocated a technology based on nature. "Nature doesn't know a straight line," emphasized Schauberger.

Historical background

The Haus Hubertus , today Martinus , is a listed building. It was built in 1921 by the architect Jan Hubert Pinand for the Diefenbach family while the Darmstadt artists' colony was still in existence . After the turn of the millennium, the house at Prinz-Christians-Weg 13 was renovated according to historical models.

Geometry and numerology

108 egg-shaped Jurassic limestone stepping stones are placed around the house, an allusion to the radius of the moon with 1,080 miles and to the precious metal silver with its atomic weight of 108.

Bionics and permaculture

The water sculptures or flowform basins form flowing water into pulsating figures of a reclining figure eight, the symbol of infinity. They are fed with rainwater from the gutters through three cisterns . The water is also used for watering the garden. Several beehives and wild bee hotels serve above all for the irreplaceable insect pollination of the many perennials, native woody plants and fruit trees.

The garden is freely laid out according to the recommendations of Hermann Benjes and Bill Mollison , the founders of permaculture:

  • Regenerative systems, where each element has several functions and thereby contributes to the stability of the system.
  • Working with nature instead of fighting individual “pests”.
  • Creation of small-scale self-sufficiency systems and utilization of the location and microclimate.
  • Closed cycles: recycling of waste and waste water, no use of commercial fertilizers.
  • Aesthetic aspects and social components: rest and relaxation as well as cooperation.

Picture gallery

  • “Stalattite” sculpture by Jacopo Foggini

  • Copper funnel and stalattite

  • Lamps with crop circle patterns

  • Water singing bowl

  • pavilion

  • View to the Stalattite sculpture

literature

  • Sabile Beil: "A highly political garden". Enchanted gem full of art and philosophy on the Mathildenhöhe . In: Darmstädter Tageblatt . Darmstadt May 22, 2014, p. 4 ( mathildenhoehe.org [PDF; 608 kB ]).

Web links

Commons : Vortexgarten Mathildenhöhe  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 49 ° 52 ′ 30.4 "  N , 8 ° 39 ′ 59.8"  E